I own nothing of Final Fantasy, but dear God, I wish I did. OC all mine.

Listen to So Here We Are by Bloc Party while reading this.

…this can't be possible… this couldn't… exist.

Alona couldn't believe the joyous feeling that was strangling her lungs with such relentless sobs. She had been crying for what felt like hours ever since Xu left her to her dorm. Her dorm. With her brand new uniform laying neatly on her bed.

The happiness was so overwhelming, so powerful all she could do was cry. She wasn't quite sure if it was due to exhaustion or the fact that she hadn't eaten so much as a bite in days that was making her so emotional. But this delirium was unlike anything she had ever felt before.

Holding her knees, Alona sat with her back to her door as she studied, admired every inch of her new home in the dark. It was more like her first home. Her lips trembled as they formed some expression like a smile.

There was a bed, the perfect size she thought, pushed into the farthest corner of the room from where she was. A big rectangular window was just above the pillows. Light glowed faintly through the blinds. With shaky legs, she braced herself with the door to stand. Walked to the only light that filled the room. She peered through the flexible plastic. Her wet eyes widened with awe. Yanked the cord and the blinds flew up; the entire room seemed to gleam.

The girl stood there, dazed by the giant, luminous moon. It's pearl light turned the black sky a velvety dark blue. The sheer beauty of it softened her. As if it were music, some sweet lullaby that could comfort her to sleep.

Home.

The word filled Alona's thoughts and she fell back with ease onto her bed. Closed her eyes. Inner peace smoothed her features. She inhaled deeply and exhaled, the fact had finally hit.

"..I'm free…," the whisper was barely more than a breath as she lay there bathing in her calm bliss.

She began to recall the events of the day, remembering the most recent and tracing backwards. The ordinary tour of the Garden Xu so kindly gave her; it wasn't so ordinary to Alona though. Every new area sent her in circles, trying to see all the angles, all the people. It was all so foreign to her. And she wanted to absorb everything.

Before the tour was the paperwork that just couldn't be completed. She was practically an alien to this world. Alona remembered the fear that saturated her voice when she spoke to the headmaster. She cringed at the thought.

The headmaster had a concerned expression upon his kind face when he asked of… the swim.

"…Did you… really swim for… three days?" All she could manage was a sincere nod. Because of the aquatic evasion that was done with such incredulous determination, denying her the opportunity to become a great mercenary would be unforgivably ridiculous of the headman. Her heart sang when Headmaster Cid accepted her to be a Balamb Garden cadet. Tomorrow would officially be her first day.

Then there were Xu's wonderful acts of generosity towards the poor thing. First was her patience with informing Alona on the basics of the Garden. She could tell the SeeD was having a difficult time trying to hide the shock of how little she knew of the system. All the while Alona was trying to conceal the true measure of her lack of knowledge of the entire world. She was so relieved there was a substantial library near.

Second were the clothes. As Xu sat there in the infirmary with Alona, it was discussed that the girl had no money, no possessions, no clothing. Nothing. With the sweetest smile the woman asked her if she liked jeans.

"Jeans? Umm, sure." Before she knew it, Xu was handing her an armful of fabrics to throw on. Two pairs of blue jeans, two white tank tops, a simple grey hooded jacket, a pair of sneakers with clean socks, and some brand new cotton panties. "This…is too much."

"You can pay me back later if it makes you happy," was all Xu said, waving her hand like she had only picked up the tab for a mere drink. Alona adored the new garments.

On that thought, she opened her eyes, propped up on her elbows. The blue and silver uniform lay beside her. Her new life lay before her.

Fingering the navy fabric, she wondered how she would look the following day, walking to her classes, sitting at the desks. Hopefully she wouldn't be terribly obvious. Obvious?

Hair!

Her hair was far too long. Surely she would be stared at no matter if she had it up or down. Undoing the massive bun at the base of her skull, henna auburn hair lapsed over her shoulders and down her back to the bed. She stood and the length of the strands reached her knees. Far too long.

Her hands quickly rummaged through some drawers for anything sharp.

Finally, a knife. It was small and nowhere near razor sharp but it would have to do. Her fingers moved fast and fluidly, making a long loose braid. What time was it?

9:42 read the glowing digital clock on the shelf by her bed. Grabbed her key. Shut the door behind her.

The girls' restroom was empty at that moment thankfully. The bright lighting of the facility stunned her sore eyes. Stood before one of the mirrors. Alona was shocked to see how swollen and pink her eyelids actually were. A soft chuckle to herself. Turned the faucet on. Warm water, warmer than warm. Just the idea of cold liquid chilled her insides to the core. Splashed her skin with the warmth; the sensation was phenomenal. As droplets rolled down, she looked into the mirror again. Looked at her wet face.

It was a little disheartening. The color appeared to be nonexistent, giving a sickly effect to her skin. And dark violet circled her red eyes. But the disturbing thing was how dehydrated and just… starved she actually looked. It was blatantly apparent that she hadn't eaten in quite some time. How long has it been? A week? Her cheekbones were sharp and her jaw harsh. The suppleness of her cheeks was barely visible. Unzipped the hoody. Her collarbones were practically handlebars.

That's it. First thing tomorrow, before class, she was going to have the most epic breakfast of her entire life. But for the moment, her hair.

Grabbed the lengthy braid and indecision fell upon her expression. Then her tired eyes turned fierce as she forcefully pulled the dagger through the thick strands. The braid came undone. The ends of the smooth dark tresses touched just above the small of her back. Alona stared at the other half of the braid limp in her hands. Cautiously her vision moved back to the mirror, not sure of what she would see. But the worry dissolved. A weight had been lifted emotionally and physically speaking. The new image of herself caused an unfamiliar excitement to build within her. She wanted to do more.

Immediately her thin fingers brushed some of the hair in front of her face. Razored practically a foot and a half off of the strands. Alona tousled the shorn pieces that hung over her gaze; her handcrafted bangs softened the severity of her afflicted face while hiding much of it at the same time. She smiled with pure happiness as she bit her lip.

Tomorrow was going to be incredible.